Who was Vitali Shakun? Ukrainian soldier blows himself up to stall Russian advance
A brave Ukrainian soldier is being remembered as a 'hero' after he made the ultimate sacrifice with his life to thwart Russians from advancing. Vitali Shakun, a soldier from the marine unit, blew himself up along with a bridge in Crimea, allowing his battalion some more time to regroup against the incoming Russian troops. The incident took place in Henichesk in the Kherson region, the port city where a Ukrainian woman went viral for her daring confrontation with Russian soldiers.
Ukrainian soldiers are being hailed across the world for their bravery and courage in the face of the war against Russia. A day before, a group of thirteen soldiers guarding the remote Snake Island yelled 'Go F**k Yourself' to the invading Russian Navy, moments before they were all killed in a vicious bout of bombing. In Kyiv, a fighter jet pilot was lauded as the 'Ghost of Kyiv' after he single-handedly knocked down six Russian fighter jets in air to air combat. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earned accolades from around the world as he stepped into the frontlines in combat gear, to fight the Russians alongside the army.
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As the Ukrainian army sustained heavy casualties, they claim to have killed as many as 2,800 Russian soldiers. In fact, Putin is reportedly frustrated with the Ukrainian army overpowering Russian forces at places. He even plans to unleash 'father of all bombs' or thermobaric weapons on the streets of Ukraine. Putin has also appealed to the Ukrainian forces to lay down their arms or hand over their "drug-addicted Neo-Nazi" leaders.
In Kherson, marine soldier Vitali Shakun (Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich) and his battalion were manning the Henichesk bridge at the Crimean intersection. As the Russian troops advanced on the bridge, the brave soldier decided to blow up the car bridge which was already lined with landmines.
Shakun texted his decision to his fellow troopers, who heard an explosion moments later. His sacrifice indeed helped to thwart the Russian advance dramatically, while his battalion regrouped and deployed a more strategized attack on the Russians.
The story of Shakun's brave sacrifice was shared online by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In an elaborate Facebook post, they noted, "THE HEROES OF THE MOMENTUM. Pidled the city together with myself #stoprussia. On this difficult day for our country, when the Ukrainian people give away to the Russian occupiers in all directions, one of the hardest places on the map of Ukraine was the Crimean intersection, where one of the first enemies met a separate marine battalion."
The post further noted, "In order to stop the promotion of the tank column, a decision was made to overthrow the Geniche Car Bridge. The engineer of a separate battalion sailor Skakun Vitaliy Volodymyrovich was called to perform this task. The bridge was replaced, but he didn't have time to get out of there. According to the words of the brothers, Vitaliy came out of contact, and informed about what pídrivâ the bridge. There was an explosion right away. Our brother was killed. His heroic act significantly slowed down the push of the enemy, allowing the unit to relocate and organize defense."
"The Marine Corps Command will be concerned before the higher command about the awarding of the Skakun sailor Vitaliy Volodymyrovich state award. Russian invaders, know, under your feet the earth will burn! We will fight as long as we live! And as long as we are alive we will fight!" read the post